Friday

Jennie's visit to the doctor yesterday yielded four new ultrasound photos! I will try to get a few of those scanned in this weekend and post them for your viewing pleasure.

A friend of mine sent me a kind email and had some excellent theories regarding Jennie's off-and-on bleeding. I had honestly not even considered the fact that losing one of the two embryos implanted might have produced the healing purge. Here is what my good friend had to say:

It is possible that since you guys had two embryos implanted, and are now only (pregnant) with one, that what is going on with Jennie is the purging of the other. Blood vessels are very delicate in the 1st trimester in that area too so she could be rupturing them regularly. Hang in there and if the Dr. has seen the baby several times now and says everything is fine, then the baby is most likely just fine.

Your thoughts and prayers are greatly appreciated.

Have a super weekend! Since Autumn is Jennie's favorite time of year, I plan on toting her around this weekend in the fresh air...

Thursday

Jennie has not been sleeping very well the past few nights. Whether heartburn or "twinges in her hinges" occur, she is beginning to question if her OBGYN knows her stuff. She has been spotting blood (with no apparent explanation from her doctor) since Monday. I mistakenly reported that it had "all but stopped" earlier in the week. In fact, it never stopped completely; it just got lighter, but now it's back again. "Ruh Roh, Shaggy" -- in the voice of Scooby Doo.

Jennie called her doctor this morning to see if she might be able to drop in for a quick exam. The medical packet given to new patients says, "bleeding during pregnancy is not normal. If this occurs, please call us at once". But, when she visits her doctor, they always reassure her, "oh, your situation is normal" and "don't worry, the baby is healthy".

I feel like a typical, helpless husband. Nothing I can possibly say will make her rid her doubts and feel like she's having a normal pregnancy. Then again, I am starting to wonder if there is even such a thing as a "normal" pregnancy? Trying to use reason and logic to soothe and comfort is a fallacy. Emotion and logic are like oil and water.

Have a wonderful "the-last-Thursday-of-September"! hehehe

AFTERNOON UPDATE: 3:30pm Jennie called me after her doctor visit today. The doctor performed an extensive ultrasound and they listened to the baby's heartbeat. Jennie saw the baby open it's mouth several times and flip around (very active). The doctor said nothing is wrong with the baby and Jennie may bleed off and on for the duration of her pregnancy, but not to worry. I am relieved that our baby is doing well...

Wednesday

This is the week where Jennie should begin to feel "popcorn popping" or "butterfiles fluttering" in her belly. She keeps anticipating the baby kicking, but it only turns out to be gas. We are both excited to rub her belly once the kicking is a frequent occurrence.

Jennie's parents left for a two week vacation a few days ago. We are graciously dog sitting their dog, Copper, while they relax and play golf in Florida. Yesterday, Jennie called me at work horrified. Copper had apparently "rolled around" in some aromatic fecal matter and had become quite noisome. As she was making Jennie gag and dry heave, I gave the dog a couple of thorough bathings after work.

Only 29 more days until Jennie's next ultrasound and the day we find out the sex of our future child!

Tuesday

I find it challenging to create a daily blog entry. I am constantly asking myself, "What should I write about today?"

How about examining the art of malapropisms? A malapropism is a humorous misuse of a word or expression. Most everyone has a collection of malapropisms they use in their day-to-day life (even without realizing it). Freudian slips and Bush-isms are extensions of this frequently used by raconteurs...

"Your teacher learned you good, don't ever take it for granite!" hehehe

Jennie had some minor brown spotting yesterday (for the first time in over a week) and it appears to be going away. Is pregnancy supposed to be like walking on eggshells? I realize everyone's body chemistry is different, but I feel like we are living in a real-world screenplay of The Glass Menagerie of Jennie's Uterus. She is handling all the twinges and pains within her body really well.

Monday

Today marked the 30th anniversary of the maiden voyage for the TV show "The Love Boat". Go ahead and pull up a bar stool. Let old Isaac pour you a drink while Captain Stubing takes us out to sea. I was only a kid when these episodes were on in prime time, but it still seems like yesterday.

Anyone remember the show Fantasy Island with Mr. Roarke (Ricardo Montalban) and Tattoo (Herve Villachaize)? I always wondered if this show was trying to be a manifestation of heaven with Roarke playing God. The "Island" itself seemed to possess supernatural phenomena. Great show, I suppose! Well, not bad for 1978...

This is the week of season premieres for TV shows. Which series are you most looking forward to watching? Heroes, CSI: Las Vegas, Two and a Half Men? Personally, I am most anxious to see the return of LOST in January.

Jennie only works a couple of days this week. Not a whole lot else going on -- work, chores, watching the tube. I am trying my best to keep her relaxed and well rested.

Before you can say Rumplestiltskin, I will be changing poo diapers and wiping away the sleep matter from my bloodshot eyes! I cannot wait... :)

Sunday

Today is my 121st wedding anniversary with Jennie (yeah, we still celebrate monthly). To celebrate our anniversary, I will probably do some yard work and clean up around the house. Exciting stuff, huh?

The Predators are down to 26 healthy skaters in training camp (only 3 more cuts to go before October 3rd). Last night, Nashville won 4-1 against Carolina in their second pre-season contest at home.

Saturday

Jennie and I spent the morning in pursuit of baby junk by visiting various garage sales in our area. Who can pass up brand new Dr.Seuss books for 50 cents? :)

Jennie's recent cravings of ice cream, Oreos, and patty melt sandwiches are contributing to my ever increasing embonpoint. She has a great excuse, but I should be a little more mindful of my caloric intake. If I'm not careful, I may need to buy some maternity clothes for myself!

Friday

Happy Autumn! Actually, this Sunday marks the Autumnal Equinox, but why not celebrate a little early? It seems like with each passing year, our Fall season in Tennessee continues to shrink. As scorching temperatures in the humid 90's suddenly plummet to the bitter, frosty 30's, Mother Nature cozens us with only a mere week or so of enjoyable, temperate weather.

Last night, Jennie and I savored the Predators as they skated to a spirited, 5-3 victory. Although Atlanta and Nashville dressed many of their younger and "on the bubble" players, the game still had a professional feel to it. The unveiling of our new $3.6 million JumboTron seemed to go over well. For a 10 year old team not supposed to win many games this year, the Predators outworked a Thrashers team loaded with young talent. Only time will tell how the Predators perform this season, but the recreant Canadian media has already written us off before the first puck hits the ice.

Thursday

Is it a girl? Or could it be a boy? We have no idea, but Jennie's doctor has a "very strong suspicion" our baby will be a girl based on yesterday's ultrasound results.

Sunday's bleeding adventure might have been caused by a "ruptured blood vessel" in Jennie's uterus as it continues to grow and stretch (with no harm to Jennie or the baby). The doctor ruled out placental hemorrhaging, abruption, or previa. Jennie's placenta is healthy and attached high along the back wall of her uterus far from the cervix! Great news...

During the trans-vaginal ultrasound, Jennie saw 10 beautiful toes kicking at the sonogram wand on the LCD. Later, she saw a bent elbow while the baby's humerus and femur were being measured. My only regret is that the doctor was unable to print off one of those little black and white photos for us to proudly display (we definitely must get one at the October 25 visit). On my desk at work, the most recent photo I have is from the 9 week ultrasound.

Jennie's next ultrasound is scheduled for Thursday, October 25th (20 weeks, 1 day).

Tonight is the home opener for the Nashville Predators pre-season hockey versus the Atlanta Thrashers. Yesterday the team sent back 8 players to their respective Junior teams. Reassigned were: Patric Hornqvist, Jeremy Smith, Jonathon Blum, Robert Dietrich, Teemu Laakso, Mark Santorelli, Viktor Sjodin, and Nick Spaling.

Training Camp now down to 45 healthy players (22 more must go in the next 2 weeks)Who's left?

Wednesday

Today marks another milestone. The 15 week ultrasound is finally upon us. A very slim possibility exists for us to learn our baby's sex today. After weeks of believing it to be a girl, Jennie is starting to have doubts. Healthy development is the only certainty I care about at this time.

Without trying to jinx us (knock on wood), Jennie's spotting has completely stopped. Maybe the doctor will have a diagnosis today?

Maggie got her ears lowered yesterday (shaved completely) and now she resembles an oversized, pet rat. The groomer gave her an "F" on her doggie report card as she continuously growled and nipped at fingers during her trim. If you shaved my butt, I would probably growl at you, too! :) hehehe

Tuesday

After several scary days, Jennie's spotting has all but gone away. She still has a little brown blood appearing, but apparently that is a great sign of healing (some relief is helpful). We may never know if it was a partial placenta previa or a capillary that burst. Regardless, a happy, healthy baby is just as important as a happy, healthy Jennie...

Monday

Jennie and I had a scary, stressful Sunday. We began the day with a nice breakfast and completed some small chores around the house (nothing out of the ordinary). Around 11am, we decided to take a small power nap to re-energize ourselves. In a panic, two hours later Jennie woke me up suddenly to tell me she was bleeding significantly...

I scrambled to find the doctor's phone number (how come it's hard to find something when you need it?) and rushed the phone to Jennie. Our only thoughts were miscarriage. I was truly frightened and I can not even imagine how this made Jennie feel.

Unfortunately, it turns out the answering service was not made aware of a rotation switch so the doctor on call did not call us back for over an hour. We finally arrived at the Baptist Hospital Emergency Room around 3:30pm and got Jennie checked in.

They checked her vitals, performed a urinalysis, and the ER doctor performed a quick ultrasound and pelvic exam. He showed us the baby was fine (it was kicking and turning with a strong, vibrant heartbeat). He pointed out the "spine is fully developed and looks fantastic" and "the blood is flowing through the baby's aorta beautifully".

We were released a little after 5pm, but we have no real explanation for the bleeding. Though, Jennie still continues to spot blood.

From our own online research, we have determined that Jennie either has: a ruptured capillary near her cervix, partial placental previa, an irritated cervix, or placental abruption.

Today we will speak to Jennie's doctor and hopefully, we will know more...

Her next scheduled doctor's visit is Wednesday.

Until tomorrow,Dave T.

(Too tired and stressed to have a cute little graphic or link of the day, sorry)

Saturday

Jennie and I had an enjoyable, yet busy day out on the town being peripatetic. Along with her mom, we watched the Predators' training camp hockey scrimmage in the morning, strolled over to Rotiers for lunch (a great "dive" for locals, known for their giant burgers), visited the new McKay's used book store (impressive store located on Charlotte), drove through Fieldstone Farms' community garage sale (although most families had already packed up for the day), and finally, came home for a late afternoon nap to top off the day.

Friday

Settling in for a long winter's nap, Jennie arrived home from her exhausting week at work and went straight to bed. Not anxious to interrupt her from hibernation, I suppose I should wake her around 8 or 9 to supply her daily vitamins, give her a little supper in bed, and tuck her in for more sleepy time. She has always been a light sleeper, so I must tiptoe through the house and be mindful of the dead. While I am perky and full of smiles after sleep, Jennie is quite the polar opposite.

Lace 'em up, hockey fans! Today marked the first day of on-ice drills and scrimmages for the Predators. As the final game day roster of 23 is whittled down from 55, I will post minor league and junior reassignments as well as releases. Here is how they are divided up to begin camp:

Thursday

Today is a glorious day for an old hockey roue like me! Hockey season officially opens today for the Nashville Predators with physicals and other off-ice activities.

I spent a few hours mowing my yard and pulling every type of weed imaginable last night, but you can barely tell. I have my work cut out for me this Fall (eliminating all the crab-grass, ouchy thistles, and volunteer trees from various mulch beds all around my house). I really dread digging up the fairly established, yet dead shrubs in my back yard (even though I supplied water, Mother Nature's never ending 105 degree heat was too much to propitiate the lawn). Did you lose any plants or shrubs?

Poor Jennie had an absolute egregious day at work yesterday! Many more of those and I honestly believe she will be enjoying her pregnancy from the couch holding the remote control...

Wednesday

Today is the final day of no hockey for the summer. With training camp opening tomorrow, I will be able to enjoy the punishing body checks and highlight reel goal scoring once again. After a tumultuous summer of ownership change speculation and relocation uncertainty, the business side can be placed on the back burner and the on-ice product will take center stage.

Jennie received a suspicious postcard in the mail over the weekend from the Advisory Council on Child Safety. It said, "please join us at DoubleTree Hotel for the Getting Ready for Baby show featuring a gift bag worth over $100". Well, Jennie and I believe you never get "something for nothing" so we began researching. It turns out that this is a SCAM -- similar to the high pressure sales tactics of time share selling. No offense to anyone who actually likes time shares (I just prefer to stay away from them myself). The "Babee Tenda" products (overpriced cribs and high-chairs) are presented and pushed on new parents using out of date safety information to scare the future parents into spending thousands of dollars. Oh yeah, and the $100 worth of free gifts is nothing more than an envelope full of coupons (i.e., JC Penney portrait studio, etc). What is this world coming to?

Tuesday

Today marks the 6th anniversary of 9/11. Our thoughts go out to those who are grieving on this plangent day.

Typical rainy day traffic here in Nashville. Rubbernecking, wrecks every 2-3 miles along the roadway. A drive that normally takes 20 minutes is taking greater than an hour this morning. Full of solecism, I am constantly asking myself, "why not move to the rural bliss of Maine or Washington state?" Three words: family, job, hockey.

LIFE IN THE BIG CITY IS CRAZY...

Jennie is enjoying a well deserved day off of work today. I would guess she is snoozing to the gentle pitter-patter of the rain.

Monday

Only nine more days until Jennie's next ultrasound! We are anxious to see how the baby is developing. If shooting pains, heartburn, and general discomfort are a good sign, then the baby is progressing well. Jennie's exhaustion is starting to take its toll on her mood. Is there such a thing as pre-partum depression? :)

Hockey training camp begins this Thursday for the Predators and I couldn't be more excited! The first pre-season game is September 20th with the season opening the first week of October.

Sunday

Today, Jennie and I will attend her work's annual employee party (it seems they are eliminating the yearly "Christmas Party" to go with more of an autumnal theme). From what I understand, the turn out is not expected to be all that great...

We made a detailed list of a hundred chores to do around the house yesterday and spent several hours attacking that list. Unfortunately, writing a blog entry yesterday was the furthest task from my mind -- oops!

We shared a nice lunch with some friends (Mike & Tori) yesterday at Jason's Deli in the Boro. Catching up on the latest news and events, we had a great time.

Jennie has experienced varying degrees of heartburn several times per day since Thursday.

Friday

Another dreary, overcast day in paradise! The clouds above are salient with rain, but only a mere sprinkle has fallen the past few days. I keep crossing my fingers and toes that we will enjoy a nice "gully washer" over the weekend! It would be supernal to sleep during the melodious trickle of Mother Nature's tears.

Tomorrow will be the first Saturday Jennie and I have "slept late" in nearly a month. She is still suffering from nausea, fatigue, and "pregnancy brain" (also known as forgetfulness). Otherwise, Jennie is doing well and appears to be in good spirits.

Jennie's morning sickness is now occurring randomly throughout the day. Some days she might have several episodes and other days, she is fine...

Thursday

Yesterday afternoon, Jennie vehemently dry heaved into a plastic grocery bag. She called me at work and questioned when this "morning sickness" would subside. Everything I have read indicates the second trimester is supposed to be a "feel good" time with only occasional, mild heartburn and activity returning to normal.

This morning Jennie heard Maggie (our Cairn terrier) barking outside by our garden. Scurrying down the deck stairs, Jennie spied to see if Maggie had located a baby bird or a feral cat. Lo and behold, Maggie was looking up at back corner of our house. Our puppy dog, protector of the manor, had found an intruder! The culprit? The relatively new Dish Network satellite dish affixed to our house... hehehe Maggie still barks at vacuum cleaners, door bells ringing (especially ones from TV commercials), and when someone knocks on a wall or cabinet, so why not the satellite dish too?

Ever had a dream where you woke up laughing, but once awake, you had no clue why you were giggling? This happened to me three or four times last night. Maybe Wendy's puts some kind of "laughing" dream chemical in their salads?

Wednesday

Lucky 13! Jennie's body is rapidly progressing into the middle trimester this week. Her uterus should have the dimensions of a coconut by now, and the baby should be the size of a jumbo shrimp (3 inches from crown to rump). Maybe her morning sickness will begin to subside in the coming weeks?

From BabyCenter.com : Your Pregnancy at 13 weeks --

Despite the small proportions, there's a fully formed baby inside your womb now. Much more proportional than it was a few weeks ago, his head is now only about a third the size of his body. His tiny, unique fingerprints are already in place. His kidneys and urinary tract are functional, and he's starting to urinate out the amniotic fluid he's been swallowing.

Tuesday

After 1,400 miles of round-trip driving, Jennie and I made it home "safe-and-sound". I will share some anecdotes of our journey around lunchtime today. More to come later!

First, I must get caught up with several hundred emails here at work...

EVENING UPDATE: As I strolled into the house after a long day of work, I realized the blog was calling my name. After dinner, Jennie and I will continue unpacking from our trip to the eastern coast of North Carolina. It was nice to see everyone under one roof -- twenty people, three dogs, and a raccoon!

My new brother-in-law, Lance, and his bride, Daina (my sister) were wed on the beach Saturday just before dusk. Jennie and I left the reception a little early (she was feeling a little nausea). While we enjoyed playing in the ocean (Jennie's first aerobic activity of her pregnancy), nothing can compare to sleeping in your very own bed after a long road trip!